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Perhaps they intend to starve me into surrender," he thought; "but they

won't succeed so long as my tablets hold out. And if, in time, they

should starve me, I'll be too thin and tough to make good eating; so I'll

get the best of them, anyhow."

Then he again lay down and began to examine his electrical traveling

machine. He did not dare take it apart, fearing he might not be able to

get it together again, for he knew nothing at all about its construction.

But he discovered two little dents on the edge, one on each side, which

had evidently been caused by the pressure of the rope.

If I could get those dents out," he thought, "the machine might work."

He first tried to pry out the edges with his pocket knife, but the attempt

resulted in failure, Then, as the sides seemed a little bulged outward by

the dents, he placed the machine between two flat stones and pressed

them together until the little instrument was nearly round again. The

dents remained, to be sure, but he hoped he had removed the pressure

upon the works.

There was just one way to discover how well he had succeeded, so he

fastened the machine to his wrist and turned the indicator to the word

up."

Slowly he ascended, this time to a height of nearly twenty feet. Then his

progress became slower and finally ceased altogether.

That's a little better," he thought. "Now let's see if it will go sidewise."

He put the indicator to "north-west,"--the direction of home--and very

slowly the machine obeyed and carried him away from the plateau and

across the island.

The natives saw him go, and springing to their feet began uttering excited

shouts and throwing their spears at him. But he was already so high

and so far away that they failed to reach him, and the boy continued his

journey unharmed.

Once the branches of a tall tree caught him and nearly tipped him over;

but he managed to escape others by drawing up his feet. At last he was

free of the island and traveling over the ocean again. He was not at all

sorry to bid good-by to the cannibal island, but he was worried about the

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